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You may have seen elsewhere on the blog the use of a modified McConnell taping for knee pain;

It's very useful for ITB issues and patellofemoral pain (often described as runners knee) – follow the links for more info on both.

Today I'm adding a more general tape for knee problems. It's designed to offload the knee a little and will help with most knee problems;

When you watch this second one, do bare in mind that a) FMG filmed it – somewhat reluctantly – and b) I was suffering from a Belgian beer hangover – for which I blame @Captain_Critic! Still the technique is there and easy to follow.

For both techniques I use Kinesiology Tape. Round the corners first with scissors to stop them catching on anything and peeling off. Make sure the skin is dry – use a towel to remove sweat or moisturiser (do women moisturise their knees? I have a male patient that does for some reason!) When applying the tape you first create an “anchor” of an inch or two under no tension, this helps it stick. Provide a gentle stretch to the tape as you apply, apart from the last inch or two which has minimal tension and is used as a second anchor. I know serious KT advocates use very different techniques with no tension, that's fine too you can find lots of those on YouTube, personally I find this method more supportive to the area you are trying to offload.

Tape can be left on for as much as 7 days! It will survive a shower, even a swim if it's good tape. It's not usually good after a long bath though. If you find it uncomfortable or have any redness, itching or reaction to the tape remove it.

Tape is good to use as a support/ offload strategy. Apply it at least 20 minutes prior to sport to allow it to stick properly, leave an hour if possible. You may just use it when running, or for longer periods if you have a very painful, irritable knee to help it settle.